Elevate Teams up with Lightworks
Elevate Teams up with Local Fiber Company for Next Round of Construction
February 12, 2020 – As Elevate ramps up construction in anticipation of building out its fiber optic network to another 4,000 homes and businesses, it has selected Lightworks Fiber & Consulting to serve as its general contractor.
“Lightworks has been with us from the very beginning. They’ve demonstrated the same commitment we have to serve our communities because, like us, they call this place home. We are beyond excited to bring them on in an even bigger capacity and proud that we can say this project is 100% locally driven,” said Elevate and DMEA Chief Technology Officer, Kent Blackwell.
As Elevate’s general contractor, Lightworks will soon begin building the next phase of Elevate’s network. Based in Delta and Hotchkiss, CO, Lightworks is a locally owned and operated business founded in 2011 by Eric Neal, Teresa Neal, and Dakota Coats.
“The partnership between Lightworks and Elevate is imperative to this community. I am excited to continue our partnership with Elevate. Our employees have worked harder the past year then they ever have before. They have spent the past year traveling around the country to get our work completed and sacrificing their time with their families and the community. We are ecstatic to get them working back within the local community and helping to better the lives of their friends, family, and local community members,” said Lightworks founder, Eric Neal.
Construction will begin in three areas for which Elevate received grant funds from the Colorado State Broadband Board: Northeast Delta, Southwest Crawford, and West Montrose. This is the second time the Broadband Board has supported Elevate with grant funds.
“Over the past three years the Broadband Board has committed a total of $6.4 million in support of our network. It’s grants like these that make it possible for us to build a fiber network in some of the most rural parts of our service territory—I can’t express enough gratitude for the Broadband Board’s support. We’ll continue to pursue these grants and every other funding opportunity possible to help bring fiber to our most rural areas,” stressed Blackwell.
As construction work begins, residents can expect to see crews clearing trees and vegetation from public rights-of-way, prepping DMEA’s power poles for construction, and hanging or burying the new fiber cables. Construction will conclude in the three grant areas by June 2020 and consumers can expect live service from Elevate shortly thereafter. Elevate and Lightworks will then move construction crews to various neighborhoods within the city of Montrose. In total, Lightworks will help Elevate construct an additional 200 miles of fiber throughout the next year.
About Lightworks
Lightworks Fiber & Consulting was founded in 2011 by Eric Neal, Teresa Neal and Dakota Coats. With more than 20 years of combined experience in the Fiber Optic industry, the three established a small company with the ambition to provide clients with a worry-free experience and high-quality bandwidth. By achieving that goal, the once small company, now has knowledgeable crews across the entire United States and has completed thousands of contracts and laid hundreds of miles of cable. Lightworks Fiber, headquartered in Western Colorado, currently offers Fiber Optic services including duct placement, blowing fiber, pulling fiber, fusion splicing and multiple Fiber Optic testing options. From our high-level management to operational field technicians, our team completes jobs efficiently with the highest degree of professionalism.
